Agency calling on local leaders and students to ensure less seniors go hungry

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV.com) – Many seniors in the St. Louis area are going hungry because they cannot get out of their homes on their own to get food.

The Meals on Wheels program allows seniors to stay home and have their meals delivered to their door. More than 2,300 seniors in St. Louis City, St. Louis, Jefferson, Franklin, and St. Charles Counties rely on the program for nutritious meals Monday through Friday.

“The population of older adults is growing, need is growing, but our funding has been static. It is not increasing,” said Mary Schaeffer with the Mid-East Area Agency on Aging.

Funding at the state and federal levels is not enough to support the growing need, so the Mid-East Area Agency on Aging is asking local leaders and students to get the word out about helping the Meals on Wheels program.

The program also serves as a way to conduct a daily well-being check on the seniors involved in the program.